Ernest renan was a french philosopher, historian, and scholar of religion, a leader of the school of critical philosophy in france Renan was educated at the ecclesiastical college in his native town of tréguier. Renan, brought up by priests, experienced an intellectual awakening as he pursued the scientific ideal He became intoxicated with the splendor of the cosmos At the end of his life, he wrote of amiel, the man who has time to keep a private diary has never understood the immensity of the universe. In 1883 renan delivered in paris two discourses, on le judaïsme comme race et comme religion and le judaïsme et le christianisme respectively
He contributed also to the revue des etudes juives. Throughout his career, renan made frequent forays to the near east, where he participated in archaeological digs He was called to the chair of hebrew at the college de france in 1862, but he was summarily removed after the publication of his life of jesus. Ernest renan was the founder of comparative religion, and influenced european thought in the second half of the 19th century through his numerous writings. In 1848, renan wrote the book the future of science (published in 1890), proclaiming his faith in science and stating, science is the only religion.only science can solve all problems and eventually replace religion. With his leanings toward liberalism and authoritarianism in politics and faith and skepticism in religion, renan embodied the contradictions of the middle class of his time.
In renan’s work we can see a comprehensive account of racial pluralism and mingling that was more widely accepted in europe than in the united states, where the polarity of white and black, aggravated by the institution of slavery, tended to dominate discussions of race.
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